Method of treating hydrocarbon oils



March 24, 1925. 1,530,587

H. C. WADE I METHOD OF TREATING HYDROGARBON OILS Filed July 15, 1921 INVENTOR ATTORN EY.

Pa nted Mar. 24, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT orncs.

my ctAY wane, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

METHOD 0] TREATING HYDRQCABBON OILS.

Application filed July 15, 1921. Serial No. 484,999.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY CLAY WADE, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Treating Hydrocarbon Oils, of which the following is a specification.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a method for the cracking of crude ydrocarbon liquids with the maximum eliiciency and particularly without the formation of carbon deposits within the cracking coil. To this end I employ waterand water vapor in the-process in such manner that both a mechanical and chemical effect is produced upon the hydrocarbon liquid. It

has heretofore been attempted to lead a mixture of oil and water through a cracking coil so that the two are simultaneousl vaporized, one of the objects being to eliminate the formation of free carbon. However such object has not been accomplished, and the reason discovered by me is that the lighter constituents of the oils vaporize be low a temperature of 212 F. and being very unstable they break up into their constituents of hydrogen and carbon, depositing free carbon upon the inner walls of the coil before the vaporization of the water into steam and thus before the steam is enabled to absorb the said lighter constituents of the oil and act as a carrier therefor. It has also been proposed to pass steam through the crack lng coil and. inject the oil into the flow of steam, but such method, while an improvement upon the first stated method only pa-rtially accomplishes its object for the reasons hereinafter specified.

In my process I subject the hydrocarbon liquid within the cracking coil at the upper turn thereofto the explosive action ofwater suddenly converted into steam, the hydrocarbon lying in strata, so to speak, with the water, immediately prior to the sudden vaporization thereof. The mechanical efiect is that the hydrocarbon is broken up into exceedingly fineparticles so that the cracking process and the subsequent chemical reaction produced by catalysis, as hereinafter explained, is rendered as thorough and eflicient as possible, and the particles of hydrocarbon are so disseminated and associated with the steam that as the lighter constituents vaporize they are immediately absol-bed by the steam and are thus prevented from depositing free carbon.

Further objects of the invention will be hereinafter set forth.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 illustrates an apparatus suitable for the practice of my method, shown in elevation, the cracking kiln being shown in section.

. Fig. 2 illustrates a form of expansion intake manifold for the cracking coil.

In Fig. 1 of the drawin is shown an oil tank A and a water tank a cracking kiln O enclosing the cracking coil D. The cracking coil is of, special construction and is an important feature of the apparatus inasmuch as it actually constitutes a plurality, in this case four, coils, subjected to heat from a single source and because of their peculiar arrangement and association having absolutely uniform action. For the purposes of this specification I will term the assembly the cracking coil and the spiral individual members I will term units of the coil. It will be seen that the cracking coil is composed of units 1, 2, 3, 4, which at their upper ends communicate with an intake manifold 5, (Fig. 2) and which at their lower end oommunicate. with a manifold 6 (diagranunatically shown). It may be considered that the units of tubing are arranged in parallelism and are then simultaneously coiled into the spiral. body illustrated in the drawing. However, any suitable manufacturing method may be adopted, it being feasible to Manifold 6 at the outlet end of the coil v communicates with an expansion tank 7 from which leads a pipe 8 communicating with the condenser 9, the condenser leading and supported within the same is a catalytic body, preferably of'coiled or woven attenuations of chrome nickle wire. If desired, however, the manifold 6 may be disposed within the kiln and a single body of catalytic material may be then disposed within the manifold.

A pipe 14 leads from the oil tank to the manifold 5, and a pipe leads from the water tank to a water superheater 16 and communicating with manifold 5, the latter, that is to say the manifold, beln located exterior to the kiln. It will also e seen that both the oil and water tanks receive pressure via anair pipe 17 having branch pipes leading to the respective tanks. 7

In the operation ofmy method a suitable temperature is produced within the kiln,

"say 800 to 900 degrees F. and check valves 18, 18 are opened to omit the flow of oil and water to the mani old 5 via their respective conduits and under a pressure preferably of 80 lbs. The water within superheater 16 ra idly reaches the steaming temperature but, eing confined by means of the check valve 18 and nozzle 19 (the outlet of which may be when the coil units are 1 diameter), the water at a temperature exceeding 212 is not permitted to vaporize until it is passed within the cracking coil. In the manifoldhiihflnfl and water he, or more accurately move, in strata, and they are forced in such condition through the outlet of the nozzle and into the cracking coil. In the coil the water is lmmediately free to vaporize and it has a sudden and explosive action in its va rization, this action so thoroughly assoclating and disseminating the particles of oil and steam that the combined vapors are presented in an ideal condition to the action of the heat as the passon through the turns of the coil an meet the cata ytic body or bodies at which point the steam is dissociated by catalytic action into its constituent elements of hydrogen and oxygen and these elements combined with the hydrocarbons arising from the cracking of the oil. By means of my catalytic body which presents the largest surface in proportion to its mass I am able to maintain within the catalyzer of nickel chrome a temperature nearly double that within the tube in advance of the catalyzer, so that aside from the effect of the catalytic action the catalyzer enables the use of a lower general heat within the kiln.

Referring again to the drawing it will be seen that the oil tank A has connected thereto a pipe 20 leading from a tank 21. Tank 21 receives liquid hydrocarbon from a condenser 22. In this part of the apparatus I have shown means for treating the viscous, plastic asphaltic still bottoms and natural asphalts or oils such as Panuco oils which have heretofore been used as fuel with great difficulty,- involving the use of complicated heating and handling apparatus, and the use of high pressures to force the hydrocarbon to special burners therefor. I place these viscous hydrocarbons in a tank 23 in which is disposed a perforated pipe or other steam sprayer 24 which may receive steam from any suitable source as from the steam pipe 25 disposed within the'kiln 26. Communicating with tank 23 is a discharge pipe 27 through which the mixture of steam and hydrocarbon flows as a liquid into a coil 27 disposed within kiln 26 and subjected to a heat; of preferably 400-500 degrees F. I have discovered that this treatment of the commingled steam and hydrocarbon in the coil 27 removes the viscosity of the oil permanently and furthermore that the water content, after condensation in condenser 22, does not separate out of the product but remains a part thereof, as -I have demonstrated by subjectin the product in a still to a temperature 0 about 150 degrees C. the product not returning to its initial viscous condition. In other words' the water did not distill off. The product may be led from tank 21 to the oil tank A and then be subjected to the cracking process as described. Thejp'roduct is a limpid free flowing product fixed and permanent innature, and suitable for'use as a fuel. oil for general purposes.

Having described my invention what I claim is as follows:

1. A method of cracking hydrocarbon oils which consists in subjecting water to a temperature exceeding-212 F. within a closed container while the water is confined to revent its free vaporization, and thence lea ing the superheated water into a, chamber where it is permitted to vaporize by sudden and explosive action, flowing the hydrocarbon oil into said chamber with the infiowing superheated water, so that the hydrocarbon liquid is subjected to the explosive action created by the said sudden free expansion of the water into steam, and thence leading the vapors through a cracking coil, the water and oil being introduced into the cracking coil at thg samepointf 2. The method'o'f treating hydrocarbon oils which consists in subjecting water to a temperature exceeding 212 F. within a confining envelope so that the water is not permitted to expand into steam, and simultaneously injecting the hydrocarbon oil and superheated water into a chamber wherein the superheated water is permitted to expand into vapor by sudden and explosive action, thence feeding the vapors through a cracking coil, the water and oil being introduced into said coil at the same point, and bringing said vapors into contact with a catalyzer.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY CLAY WADE.

Witnesses:

W. LEE Hams, LILLIAN BECKER. 

